Liverpool Football Club

We held our 3rd Annual Dinner Dance on March 4th 2006 in the Tower Hotel Waterford. Our Honorary President Ronnie Whelan was in attendance with none other than his former team mate and very good friend Ian Rush. On the night they both spoke so modestly of their acheivements during their playing days with Liverpool. With an array of medals won between both of these legends it was a fantastic night for all of the 200 people in the room to get an insight of how it must have felt to play for and succeed at the worlds greatest football club. Below Rushie is introduced to the members and was delighted to speak with such fondness about his career. He answered many questions and below are just a couple of questions he answered.

 

Rushie was asked what it was like in his first training session with Liverpool after being Britian's most expensive teenage signing at £300,000 from Chester in 1980. He says "When I came to Liverpool I was overawed by the fact that I was sat next to some legends such as Phil Thompson and Kenny Dalglish on the coach to training on my first day". He says it took time for him to adjust but he quickly realised that all the players were helping him along.

Pictured below Ronnie went on to heap praise on Rushie and says it was "a privilege to have played on the same team as Rushie who broke all the records in the book." After some mickey taking he says "they were room mates for 7 years before Rushie F***'d off to Juventus". In response, Rushie was quick to mention that it might have been himself Kenny or Souness that were often praised for Liverpool victories. But he says " You would be very surprised to see how many games we failed to win when Ronnie was not in the team". He said, "Ronnie was the ball winner in the middle of the field and without him we wouldn't have created the chances".They were very complimentary of each other and it was easy to recognise their compatibility.   

When Rushie was asked which player (apart from Ronnie Whelan) was the best he ever played with, his answer was of course Kenny Dalglish. He said during his early days that Kenny would play a ball through the defence and expect him to be on the end of the pass to score. After a number of through balls Rushie quickly realised what was required, and soon after the deadliest strike force in the world was born. Rushie went on to score 346 goals in 658 1st team games for Liverpool.

Rushie was asked who had the most influence in his career where he spoke very highly of the manager that signed thim for Liverpool, Mr Bob Paisley. "He was the most amazing man" said Rushie. "He had a very extensive knowledge of the game. A very unassuming man who just got on with his job. He made all the players feel as if they were the best in the game". He also spoke of the difference between the managers of that time and the ones today. He said managers today need to have many aspects to their coaching skills. "A lot of mental awareness is needed to deal with the players of today" he said. "That was a skill that Bob had 25 years ago without anybody knowing about it. He certainly was the biggest influence in my career".

We presented Rushie with a piece of Waterford Crystal on the night which he was delighted to accept. He was a superb guest and made himself available to all the members after dinner for photos, autographs and a sociable drink or two.

We raised some money on the night for a local charity the Waterford Hospice Movement. Members put their names on fivers which were thrown into the European Cup. Rushie drew out the winner who was presented with a signed Steven Gerrard jersey that Stevie wore for a recent game.

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The winner of the draw was branch member Darren Gray. He was absolutely delighted with his prize and nearly squeezed the life out of Rushie while accepting his prize.

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Pictured below are branch members Anthony Holness and Maurice Hartery with legend Ian Rush

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Below are the Elliott family which were in full attendance for the evening. Delighted to meet the legend Ian Rush with the 5th European Cup. 

Here's to next year as we look forward to our 4th Annual Dinner Evening. Many thanks to all the members who attended the evening and of course a special mention to the guests Ian Rush and Ronnie Whelan for making it a night to remember for all the die-hard Liverpool fans in the Waterford Branch.

You'll Never Walk Alone